Automatic radio station selector



Sept. 26, 1933. w s 1,928,200

AUTOMATIC RADIO STATION SELECTOR Filed March 6. 1926 A TTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 26, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Walter Faas, Newark, N. J., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application March 6, 1926.

Serial No. 92,851

16 Claims. (Cl. 250-40) This invention relates to radio station selectors and in particular to one adaptedto be incorporated in a radio receiving set, which will operate automatically to tune the set in on any particular station desired.

A particular'object of the invention is to provide in a radio receiving set means whereby a certain station, such for instance, as a local station may be tuned in immediately without the operation of a dial to gradually tune the set into resonance with said broadcasting station.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plug arrangement in connection with a radio set whereby the plug upon being placed into any one of a plurality of openings will automatically tune the set to the station corresponding wit the plug opening.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved plug member in combination with an operating member, which will not only tune the station in on the receiving set immediately by the insertion of the plug in a suitable opening but the plug will also be provided with means whereby a revolving movement given thereto will make the adjustment finer and the station reception clearer.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in combination with a radio receiver, an automatic means whereby any number of a plurality of broadcasting stations may be tuned in on the receiver individually by the use of a plug member so that manipulation of the tuning dials will be eliminated.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully comprehend the underlying features of my invention that they may embody the same in the various modifications in structure and relation contemplated, a drawing depicting a preferred form has been annexed as a part of this disclosure, and in such drawing similar reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout all of the views, of which,

Figure l is a section taken through the main or sub-panel of a radio receiving set, the section being taken so that the arrangement of the operating parts are clearly shown.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of a portion of the radio receiving set, a part thereof being shown in section to illustrate the operation of my improved selector mechanism.

Figure 3 is an end view of the selector mechanism as seen in Figure 2, some of the parts being omitted for the sake of clearness and,

Figure 4 is a section greatly enlarged taken through one of the plugs and plug holding bushings illustrating the construction and operation of the same.

Referring to the drawing in detail, 5 indicates a radio receiving set cabinet of the usual type embodying the walls G'and usual panel 7. The panel has attached to the underside thereof in any suitable manner, a tuning unit housing 8 through which passes the unit rotating shaft 9, which carries within the housing the usual revolving portion of the tuning unit 10. It is not believed necessary to describe the details of the construction and operation of the tuning unit as such units are well known in the radio art, it being sufficient to say that the unit operating shaft 9 carries at its outer end the station selecting dial 11, the peripheral face of which is calibrated with suitable numbers which may be observed through a suitable sight opening 12 in the panel 7. This rotor shaft 9 is revolved through the medium of the control knob 13, which is disposed exteriorly 7 of thecabinet and is attached to the end of a control shaft 14, which extends through the wall of the cabinet and which carries at its inner end the operating pinion 15. This pinion is adapted to cooperate with a gear 16 secured in any suitable manner. to the dial member 11 whereby the tuning unit may be operated directly from said control knob 13; The control shaft 14 is carried adjacent its inner end in a suitable bracket 17 secured on the interior of the cabinet so that the pinion 15, in cooperation with the gear 16 may function properly. In orderto disengage the pinion 15 from the gear 16, I provide in the wall of the cabinet a bore 18 in which is held in any manner the friction sleeve 19, which as shown in Figure 2 is constricted at its mid portion as at 20 to lie within and engage a suitable groove 21 provided in the shaft 14. It is evident that the pinion 15 can be drawn out of engagement with the gear 16 by'drawing outwardly on the control knob so that the groove 21 in the shaft 14 is disengagedfrom the constricted portion 20 of the holding member 1 9.

It is'obvlous that the control knob may be operated to tune in on any station desired and the tuning unit is suitably operated by the turn ing of the control knob.

In the operation of radio receiving sets in large cities where there are a plurality of broadcasting stations, it is desirable to have some means of immediately selecting a station without manipulation of the control knob and a reading of the dial which is found objectionable by some people because of its apparently mechanical nature. In order to overcome this objection, therefore, I have provided a means whereby the tuning unit may be suitably revolved so that any particular broadcasting station will be immediately tuned in without manipulation of the control knob. As a means of carrying out this operation, I provide in the panel 7 of the receiving set a suitable elongated fianged strip 22, which is provided at its center with a slot 23 extending substantially the length thereof. The flanged strip 22 may be secured to the panel by any suitable means such as the screws 23d and said strip is provided with two oppositely disposed depending portions 24, between which is pivoted the operating lever 25, the pivot point of said lever being indicated as at 26. It is evident that the lever 25 is pivoted in the extremeend of the flanged strip 22 and extends longitudinally of said strip but in space relation therebelow.

The lever 25, at its free end, has secured thereto the operating belt or cord 27, which passes over a cord guiding pulley 28 suitably journaled on a bracket 29 carried by the tuning unit housing 8. The operating cord or belt 27 passes over an operating pulley 30 and is secured thereto in any suitable manner, the pulley itself being fixed to the tuning unit shaft 9 and being adapted to operatethe same. The revolving movement of the tuning shaft 9 is resisted by a suitable coil spring 31, which is secured at one end tosaid shaft and at the other end to the tuning unit housing 8. This is clearly illustrated in Figure 3 and it will be evident that a downward movement of the free end of the lever 25 will cause rotation of the tuning shaft whereby the tuning elements will be suitably operated to establish resonance or otherwise tune in the particular broadcasting station selected.

It will be seen upon inspection of Figure 1 and for the convenience of illustration we will assume that the lever is suspended in a top panel in the cabinet so that its operation is up and down and when in the position shown by the dotted line, it will tune in the set on one par ticular station, for instance, station A, as shown on the strip in which the operating elements are adapted to be placed. In order to operate the lever 25, I have provided in the slot 23, of the strip member 22, suitable sleeves 32, which on their diametrically opposite sides are flattened as at 33 but are otherwise threaded to receive the locking nut 34, the edges of which are knurled so that the sleeves 32 can be tightened at any relative position longitudinally of the strip.

Referring to Figure 4 it will be noted that the sleeve 32 has incorporated therein a groove 35 which contains the spring ring 36. This spring ring is adapted to cooperate with a suitable groove 37 provided in the plug shank 38, whereby the plug will be releasably held in the sleeve 32 in position so that its lower end will bear against the operating lever 25. The plug is provided with a knurled head portion 39 and "the lower end of the shank 38 is beveled as at 40 to provide a cam, which when in contact with the lever 25 will operate the same upon a turning movement of said plug to obtain a fine adjustment of the tuning element whereby perfect resonance is established.

In setting the various sleeve members, it is simply necessary to tune in with the dial in the first instance and when the particular station desired is obtained, the sleeve member 32 is se cured at the proper position in the slot A where the station is heard best and in which position the plug member inserted into said particular sleeve is in engagement with the lever 25 causing depression of the same to an extent necessary to permanently establish connection with said station. It will be evident that any number of sleeve members can be used and that they can be placed in any relative position longitudinally of said slot 23. Also, the position of the strip member is immaterial and while I have shown it in the top panel of a receiving set, it is equally well adapted to be placed in any of the side walls or end walls of such receiving sets.

It will be noted upon reference to Figure 2 that the control knob is frictionally held by the friction member 19 and this friction member will serve the purpose of preventing rotation of the control knob by the spring 31 when the knob is being used for the purpose of tuning in the set. Any other means could just as well be used, such for instance, as a throw-out member interposed between the end of the shaft 9 and the station selecting dial 1.1.

It will be evident, therefore, that I have provided an automatic radio station selector, which operates through the medium of a plug member which can be inserted into a series of openings in any of the faces of a radio receiving set cabinet and which will operate to tune in the particular stations selected instantly. Also, I have provided an automatic station selector which will eliminate the use of the tuning knob and dial in the selection of certain stations which are frequently used.

It will be also evident that I have provided a new and improved methodiof instantly tuning in on stations desired and at the same time without adding to the radio set any complicated mechanism or great number of parts which is objectionable and which cannot be easily incorporated into a radio receiving outfit.

It 'is to be distinctly understood that while I have shown a particular number of plug receiving sleeves, that I am not limited thereby and can make use of any number through which a single plug can be inserted to cause depression of the operating lever 25, the distance necessary to tune in on any broadcasting station, the broadcasting wave length of which has been predetermined.

While I have illustrated and described my invention with some degree of particularity, I realize that in practice various alterations therein may be made. I, therefore, reserve the right and privilege of changing the form of the details of construction or otherwise altering the arrangement of the correlated parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is,

1. In a radio receiving set, a tuning unit, a rotor shaft through which 'said unit is operated, a pivoted lever, a connector between the free end of said lever and said shaft, a plug for moving said lever a predetermined distance whereby the tuning unit will be operated to tune the set w to a selected broadcasting station, and a plurality of sleeves for receiving said plug, arranged longitudinally of said lever.

2. The combination with a radio impulse receiving set comprising a tuning unit, of a lever pivoted at one end and adapted to be swung to a plurality of predetermined positions, a plug for operating laid lever, a connection between the free end of the lever and said tuning unit whereby when the lever is moved to any one of aplurality of predetermined positions by the plug, the unit will be operated to place the set in resonance with a predetermined broadcasting station, and means on the end of the plug for giving the lever a small adjusting movement.

3. In a radio receiving set, a tuning unit, a lever pivoted at one end, a tuning unit operating connection to the free end of said lever, a plug for depressing said lever a predetermined distance, and a cam like end on said plug whereby the lever is given an additional adjusting movement.

4. In a radio receiving set, having a tuning unit and arranged to provide a plurality of plug openings, a plug adapted to be placed selectively in any of said openings, a tuning unit operating member extending beneath all of said openings and adapted to be operated by said plug, and a connection between the operating member and the tuning unit whereby the latter will be operated upon a movement of the operating memher.

5. In a radio receiving set, comprising a tuning unit and means for operating the unit to bring the set into resonance with various broadcasting stations; a plurality of adjustable sleeve members, a plug adapted to be held in any of said sleeves, a pivoted lever contiguous to all of said sleeves and arranged so that varied movement is imparted thereto by the plug when placed in the different sleeves, and a connection between the lever and the unit whereby the latter is operated upon a movement of the lever to bring the set instantly into resonance with a predetermined broadcasting station.

6. The combination with a radio receiving set comprising a tuning unit, an indicating dial and a unit operating shaft extending from the dial, of a pivoted lever, a plug for depressing the lever a predetermined distance, said plug being so arranged that a turning movement thereof will impart to said lever an additional adjusting movement, and a tuning unit operating connection at the free end of said lever.

7. In a radio receiving set, a tuning unit, a lever pivoted at one end, a tuning unit operating connection to the free end ofsaid lever, an operating member for moving the free end of the lever a predetermined distance and means whereby said operating member may be adjusted longitudinally of said lever to varythe movement thereof.

8. In a radio receiving set, a tuning unit, a rotor shaft by which said unit is operated, a pivoted lever, a connector between the free end of said lever and said shaft, a plug member for moving said lever to a predetermined point whereby the tuning unit will be operated to tune the set to a selected broadcasting station, sleeves for receiving said plug member and means whereby said sleeves can be adjusted longitudinally of said lever.

9. In radio apparatus, an inclined member connected with a controlling device, a part provided with a row of openings opposite the inclined member, and a pin adapted to be thrust through a selected opening to move the inclined part and adjust the control a predetermined distance.

10. In a radio communication apparatus, a tuning element, a pivoted lever, a connection between said lever and said tuning element for ob taining a predetermined electrical value of said tuning element upon a predetermined movement of said lever and means adapted to move along a plurality of parallel lines to contact with said lever for causing movement thereof, said lines being at difierent distances from the pivot point of said lever.

11. In a radio communication apparatus, a tuning condenser, means for varying said tuning condenser by predetermined steps only and a rotatable member for varying said tuning condenser any desired amount, said means comprising a plug, a member adapted to be actuated by said plug and a plurality of openings in which said plug may be inserted.

12. In radio receiving apparatus, the combina tion of a variable tuning element adapted to be varied intuning'the apparatus to receive a signal from a radio station, a plurality of separately adjustable means each determining a pre-selected station setting, means cooperating with any desired one of said plurality of adjustable means for varying said tuning element in a predetermined manner, said adjustable means and said cooperating means comprising automatic station selector means, a tuning knob spaced apart from said adjustable means and said cooperating means, and means operable by rotation of said knob for varying said tuning elements independently of said station selector means and without disconnecting said station selector means. u

13.111 a radio communication apparatus, a variable reactance tuning element, a member provided with a plurality of openings, a pin adapted to be placed in one of said openings, and a mechanism actuated by said pin for'varying the reactance of said tuning element according to the opening in which said pin is placed.

14. In a radio communication apparatus, a tuning element including a movable part, means for moving said movable part, a pin for actuating said means, a member positioned adjacent said means, and additional means adjustably positioned in said member for providing an opening in which said pin is inserted to actuate the first mentioned means.

15. In a radio communication apparatus, a variable tuning element including a movable part, a member operatively connected with said movable part, a stop member for coacting with said -member to limit the movement of said movable part in one direction, and means providing a plurality of positions for said stop member, said means including a member provided with a plurality of openings.

16. In a radio communication apparatus, a variable tuning element including a rotatable part, means for rotating said rotatable part in one direction, a spring for rotating said rotatable part in the opposite direction, a member provided with a plurality of openings, a stop member adapted to be placed in one of said openings and means associated with said rotatable part for contacting with said stop member to prevent said spring from rotating said rotatable part past a predetermined position.

WALTER FAAS. [L.s.] 

